What is Khazanah’s end game?
What's the end game being played by Khazanah? It's instructed to sell shares in the companies that it invested. Reason being- to flush the market with liquidity. But have we thought about the collateral damage? I have long thought that it was wise before we appoint anyone to head GLCs- doesn't matter how clever they are, they should be re-schooled into understanding what it is to be Malay and the bigger Malay agenda. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not advocating anything sinister on the non-Malays. But imagine this- if those people whom we entrusted to implement policies that could have furthered the interest of Malays as laid down by our policies, didn't understand the reason they were put there in the first place, how could things be better? Suppose, you install Malays who don't think much about affirmative policies, what do you get? You get results that they think are all right but in reality are detrimental to Malay economic interests. The Malay agenda becomes trivialized. A few weeks ago, a leading newspaper interviewed a former Malay corporate leader. He was asked whether it is good business if KFC is sold to private Malay interest. He went on to answer if KFC business is to be sold, better to be sold to another GLC. This is a stark example of someone who we extolled as a sound businessman who doesn't understand the Malay agenda. The idea has always been a GLC holds shares on behalf of Bumiputeras and somewhere along the line, there is a credible Malay entrepreneur who can take over the business, he should be given the chance. Hello- if you people must know, theer are many Malays out there whose name isn't Syed Mokhtar Bukhary. You give opportunities to many Bumiputeras. You don't keep the businesses in GLCs for infinity. This was why GLC was set up in the first place. But the stupid business leader didn't understand the bigger Malay agenda. The same fools seem to head other GLCs at the moment. Many of them were placed at strategic GLCs by Nor Mohamad Yaakob. Obviously he is the chief culprit who doesn't understand the meaning of being Malay and the bigger Malay agenda. What was the main reason Khazanah was set up? To invest in industries and businesses on trust for Malays. Now, if Nor Mohamad Yaakob says, sell into the open market, the value of Malay economic interests will be diluted. That is what I mean; having Malay technocrats who don't understand what it is to be Malay. Same goes for those in Equinas. Send them to be re-schooled first. I think if I become a delegate at next year's UMNO General Assembly, I want to move a motion to lynch Nor Mohd Yaakob. By his balls the better. This is the man who just said we are nearing our goal of becoming a developed nation. Are we getting the fabled USD15, 000 per capita income already? Weren't we warned that that we are going to be a bankrupt nation if we go on spending on subsidies and then the same guy who gave the warning then launched a massive plan to spend and spend? Maybe Nor Yaakob is seeing a lot of money flushed in the market. How? He has instructed his Khazanah boys to sell off shares to increase liquidity in the market. As the man responsible over Khazanah, he famously endorsed the recruitment of brainy boys to helm Khazanah and GLCs. He then went on to announce, these people will be judged in accordance to various performance measures. The over rated KPIs. KPIs are good only for marking term papers nowadays. The best KPI now seems to be the approval rating of ordinary Malaysians. Generally speaking, we don't have faith in the Khazanah mafia. The PM should now find ways to disband Khazanah and re constitute another sovereign wealth fund. Answerable to parliament if need be. There are so many strange things done by the Khazanah people. It used to be a front for McKinsey at one time. I don't know why, these supposedly brainy people appear to be overawed by the Mckinsey name. Maybe because they are numeric people or maybe the confidence oozing from Mckinsey boys is secretly adored by inferiority complexed people at Khazanah. Nowadays we hear Azman Mokhtar going around sermonizing as a lay preacher. He has a diploma in some religious studies or something from UIA. Maybe by doing that, some of the questionable business deals are cleansed, no? The man in charge of Telekom Malaysia for example was nominated by Azman Mokhtar. Azman's preference on ZamZairani is on the basis of "I can vouch for him as I know him since our MCgaygay days". Yes sir, this is great- we choose people on the basis of who I like and who I know. What has Zam done for Telekom? Nothing other than serving as batman for Azman Mokhtar. And I hear it was Azman who moved the motion to increase Zam's salary to almost RM 100k a month. Holy cow- you pay RM 100k a month managing a company that's not moving anywhere. What will Zam do that will not be different from what that Wahid Omar chap did before him? First, get rid of deadwood in Telekom. Wahid did that. And I have to say in all honesty; at least that was a credible achievement. It's amazing he didn't get blown up for doing that. Retrench or VSS those who don't add value to the company. Then, there is the asset stripping much liked by accountants. Selling off Axiata shares appeared to be the latest. With the money, TM has funds to pay shareholder and probably avoid confrontation. They will go on selling whatever can be sold. What is Khazanah's agenda? Maybe Nor Yaakob and his KPI-steroided boys at Khazanah have different agendas. They want to be in business (more than 50 ventures all over the place) without a care about the bigger agenda. The bigger agenda is to push for Bumiputera ownership of economic resources at reasonable levels. I maintain and believe that the primary purpose of Khazanah as is with GLCs is to hold shares on trust for bumiputeras. That should have been the primary agenda. It holds in trust the various companies in the name of Bumiputera. Then, if there are Bumiputera entrepreneurs who can take up the stakes that it holds, sell to them. In that way you build up a network of Bumiputera entrepreneurs which is in line with the overall government agenda of redistributing economic resources. So when Khazanah sells its stakes, the right of refusal should vest with Bumiputera. It makes sense, because then the equities held on by Khazanah, made possible with government money, will divest into the hands of bumiputera. Now I hear, Khazanah has been instructed to pare down its shares in the various companies so as to increase liquidity in the market. But if it sells in the open market, then the agenda of holding on to shares on trust for Bumiputera is diluted. What's the reason for forming Khazanah? It was planned initially for khazanah to hold equity in strategic industries. But nowadays, Khazanah is into all sort of business. From agriculture rearing prawns, to creating a lego land. What was the rationale of raising sukuk bonds in Singapore? Here, we are making all kind of braying noises that we are creating an integrated Islamic financial district. That district will be masterminded by a non-Muslim who is probably accompanying the PM this Christmas holidays to Dubai. Maybe after that, that Jho Low will be standing by in New York to party all night long. Khazanah Nasional has substantial stakes in companies that are involved in various sectors such as: Agriculture Automotive Basic Materials Financial Institution Group Healthcare Infrastructure & Construction Leisure & Tourism Media & Communications Property Technology & Bio Tech Transportation & Logistics Utilities Others Let's watch who gets to buy shares in these companies as Khazanah divests them.
34 comments:
From Zaid Ibrahim :
Quote
UMNO will insist that 30% of the corporate equity will remain with the Malays; despite the fact that only 5% of the Malays control the pot. There is no trickle down. There is no equitable distribution. This UMNO rule of 30% will continue to be abused to the detriment of deserving Bumiputras, while putting a dampener on private sector investments.
Unquote
How true. Couldn't agree more.
Sawadee Sak,
"how clever they are, they should be re-schooled into understanding what it is to be Malay and the bigger Malay agenda"
never mind if they are just 30 year olds or there abouts....wet behind the ears. What do they know about the malay agenda or about 5,000 sq ft house uptown with a sports car or 2 in the porch and 5 zero plus monthly salary.....hmmmm, i wonder!
Who are they answerable too. Can we have a report card.
akb
Sak,
Perhaps, BN is not confident of holding Putrajaya, so its best to liquidate and fill the warchest. Also, better not to leave too much assets for the Pakatan government. No?
Dear Sak, Khazanah was formed to serve the interest of UMNO and BN.
As far as I am concern, Khazanah is a POLITICAL COMPANY to serve the agenda of UMNO.
Recently,a bumiputra friend of mine told me that UEM LAND offer him the deal to plan ,bulit and market its properties FOR ITS 30000
acres of land in NUSAJAYA. The first thing I told him is please reject whatever they offer be
cause you cannot trust a POLITICAL COMPANY WHOSE BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY IS BASED ON POLITICS.
As an EPF member.I am very worried of Shahril Redza, a MACHAI of Nor Yakob and currently the chief investment officer of EPF. I am worried because Shahril may invest our EPF money for the benefit and agenda of Nor Yakob and UMNO.
Holy Cow alike dato, was amazed by the almost rm100k monthly salary of the telekom guy.
With regards to that, what is the "jurang perbezaan" between the middle income earner especially those serving the goverment of the day and those above the middle income earners.
Ekuinas employed a bunch of young well connected executives to play with public money. Can we trust them?
Wikipedia: Khazanah: "Khazanah Nasional Berhad is the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia entrusted to hold and manage the commercial assets of the government and to undertake strategic investments"
So when was it that the role of Khazanah got changed to be custodian of Sakmongkol's Malay Agenda?
Dear Sakmongkol
Has anyone seen the mission statement of Khazanah? Is it their sole purpose to look after the Bumiputra interest – investing in “strategic” or profitable businesses with the express objective to on-sell then later to Bumiputras? I ask this in pure innocence because I actually do not know. I would be grateful if someone can give me a definitive answer. As of now, my impression (perhaps completely mistaken) is that Khazanah was created to be the government’s investment-arm much like Singapore Investment Corporation – a sovereign wealth fund of sorts. The Bumiputra agenda that you talked about was to be a secondary aim. This might mean, for instance, that Khazanah might join up with a Bumiputra party to co-invest in a new strategic venture to share risk. But basically Khazanah’s funds belong to the government i.e. to all Malaysians and therefore it has the primary duty to ensure that the funds are well invested and not used solely to benefit the Malays.
Let me get to the next point that you have put forth so forcefully, that is, that Khazanah exist to further the Malay Agenda by selling assets to capable Malays to achieve the aim of spreading wealth ownership. Is this a sustainable and realistic way for the Malays to gain and retain substantial wealth? Make no mistake, I want to see the Malays succeed, but I doubt very much what you advocate is the correct way.
Syed Mokhtar is perhaps a very good example to illustrate my point. Did he really create any NEW wealth? What he is good at is to cozy up to politicians to buy government assets cheaply on bank borrowings – ports, Bernas (rice monopoly), power plants, army-supply companies. These are essentially monopolies or quasi-monopolies that guarantee a profit and thus are easy to finance at high margins. If the assets have a high probability to earn say 10%, one could get the bank to lend 80% at 6% interest, and simply pocket 4% - a type of rent-seeking behaviour. Any fool can do such business. He has created no significant businesses from scratch i.e. no new wealth was created, but just shuffling paper ownership from government to him – really a wealth transfer. Is this the route to long-term Malay success? Assuming Khazanah now agrees to sell all its 40 holdings to say 40 Malays it only means that 40 Malays become rich overnight without having to take risks and create anything new. We as a country have not got any richer. And after selling these profitable bits, what else is there to sell? How do we keep the other Malays happy? No, let’s think of better ways to help the Malays succeed – and the route will not be easy, but the success will be real and lasting.
Dato Sak
Kemana penghujung Khazanah?. Hamba rasa la, ia akan ditelan bumi juga. Apabila kita mengagungkan harta dunia ianya sama dengan sejarah Qarun. Lepas PRU13 kelak akan ada cabang pelaburan yang baru la. Rakyat..He3..
There are two main problems here.
The first is we have, calling the shots, a man who lost a minimum of RM 6 billion (others claim it was as much as 30 billion - we will not know as Dr.M put a lid on it) gambling on the forex markets while in Bank Negara Malaysia. Would you put Dracula in charge of the blood bank? Police reports aginst him about financial misdoings have been ingored.
The other pernicious matter is that we now have 'He's one of us' or 'The Old Boy' culture in Government and GLC's.
This is a lethal combination that can ony see M'sia being propelled faster than the speed of light towards bankruptcy!
dpp
we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race
Drucker once said the CEO should not be paid more then 20 times the entry level position...so its pure greed and rampant abuse to pay oneself 100k per month.
Its easy to get Hays to do comparative studies and keep on escalating the salaries.
Its a wonder why TM/Axiata with all the licenses,infra etc cannot be the absolute market leader.
Just compare the Celcom & Maxis website...Celcom is full of flash n very graphic heavy,absolute hell to navigate.Maxis is info rich and so easy to get to navigate.
That the difference really...Celcom is heavy on talk but slow in delivery.Maxis thrives on customer service.
No way is anyone in TM worth more than 30k...absolutely no no...
It appears that the demand for liquidity has started in view of the decrease in the level of FDIs which indirectly diminish the growth of capital and the economic progress of the country.
Dato,
What malay agenda are you talking about? It's every malay UMNO man for himself to bleed the coffers dry before the country becomes officially bankrupt. Everyone knows that Khazanah is a front for UMNO. Hence all decisions of Khazanah has a "ka-ching" tune going into the pockets of well connected malays. Thus in certain aspects, Khazanah does serve the malay agenda of some specific malays. Now what's wrong with that??
Dato' Sak,
Please write about PNB too!!
Your true tail has come out.
You said Khazanah and GLCs are there to provide for Bumiputras because the money comes from the government.
Looks like you have hijacked that company to be your own.
Look, ANYTHING owned by government is owned by MALAYSIANS... PERIOD.
So since you have made GLCs etc as bumiputra, surely the NEP is no more necessary. The percentage would be more than 50% already as Lim Teck Ghee once written and article on it.
As far as we are concerned, we just want a fair opportunity to make it in Malaysia. There are millions of non Bumiputras trying to make it everyday but hindered everyway.
No more barrier. No more quota. No more hindrance to any dream of any Malaysians to advance and henceforth all Malaysians compete under equal terms.
Agree? Take lah what Khazanah has for all we care.
We pay taxes where we do business be it overseas or locally. We put our money where it maximises our returns.
So tell those UMNO guys and Utusan to stop battering other races.
It is a Malay vs Malay fight right now.
Non Malays are not your enemies.
You want wealth? Work for it. If guys want to wait at the table like those "Ibrahim Alis" can wait forever.
Basically if one wants to be sustainable in any part of the world, one has to be competent, dare to take risks and WORK for it.
Look into your innerselves which part or parts of the three have you mastered?
Apply this nationwide and you know whether you can succeed.
Waiting for GLCs to give you the goodies is definitely not one of them.
Dear Sakmongkol
Earlier I took Syed Mokhtar as an example to illustrate the no-brainer ideas that these Bumiputras have i.e. to solely aim to buy government assets that are essentially income generating monopolies via high financial gearing, and justify such non-creative, non-value added paper shuffling as “increasing Malay wealth”.
In StarBiz today we read of Ibrahim Zain offering RM26 billion to buy over PLUS, a price that is 13% higher than that offered by UEM/EPF. This once again shows the Bumiputra mentality that I condemn. PLUS is a mature, on-going, guaranteed revenue (by government) business monopoly – in short a big risk-free cash cow. Why is Ibrahim Zain to brave to seemingly “risk” RM26 billion? No, actually there is no personal risk at all. Sakmongkol, even you and I can do it, if we know the right people.
How can such a big deal be done? First you create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to buy PLUS shares via a bid. You get your bankers to put up all the money by issuing bonds using PLUS assets as collateral. Make sure of course that all the government guarantees are in place – traffic numbers, periodic toll rate increases. Finally, get your accountant to confirm that the return on assets i.e. net revenue on toll less maintenance costs exceeds the bond coupon rate by say 2-3%. This is the net rent you get for doing this riskless deal. You don’t even have to put up your personal guarantee because it is the SPV that is borrowing. Should some untoward, unforeseen incident happen (i.e. you somehow screw up like Splash or Puncak Niaga) there is always the government to fall back on to take care of the bondholders. By the way, this was also the modus operandi of the power companies – IPPs. At least the IPPs actually build something new.
Notice that no non-Bumiputra has emerged to buy over government assets. They know, this can’t be done so they buy land instead and start plantations here or in Indonesia; they buy land and build houses and condos, doing the things that any Malay can do if we can wean them off this government asset pipeline.
ONeMalaysian..
Vision & Mission:
Khazanah will be regarded as a leading regional strategic investment house that drives superior corporate performance with high standards of achievement in sectors that are deemed strategic to the nation's economy. We are committed to building a globally competitive Malaysia by developing the right human capital and maintaining the highest professional ethics. We shall develop a high level of integrity and professionalism with the aim of earning the trust of those with and for whom we work.
Our Culture
We look to cultivate a team committed to nation building as its common bond. This culture defines us as individuals who, collectively, enrich the institution by energising it with ideas, expertise and talents that come from a myriad of disciplines.
http://www.khazanah.com.my/about.htm
.
Dato, I like reading your posts as you are able to put forth your point without getting emotional. Like some in your party are wont to do.
However for your article today, I have an issue. You say that Khazanah is supposed to hold companies in trust for Bumiputeras until a Bumi entrepreneur can take over; but how can that person be an entrepreneur in the first place if all he/ she did was wait for Khazanah to sell down? That is not entrepreneurship. Sorry Dato, I have to disagree with you on this.
Sak
It's a fair point you need to clarify - since when was Khazanah and GLC's meant to be there primarily for the furtherance of Bumiputra interests?
My understanding has always been that Khazanah is the M'sian equivalent of S'pore's Temasik which is the circumstance under which Taxpayers' funds can be allocated for its activities.
This is exactly the kind of misunderstanding that is bound to arise when we continually (even after 40 years of NEP) - forsake meritocracy for wholesale race based economic policies and politics!
dpp
we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race
‘The idea has always been a GLC holds shares on behalf of Bumiputeras and somewhere along the line, there is a credible Malay entrepreneur who can take over the business, he should be given the chance. Hello- if you people must know, theer are many Malays out there whose name isn't Syed Mokhtar Bukhary.’
Ya-loh, there r not that many Al-Bukharys, neither r there sufficient credible Malay entrepreneurs that one can count on the fingers of a hand!
90% r born rent-seekers, 8% r syok-sendiri wannabes, & the remaining 2% r THAT rare credible Malay entrepreneurs.
How do these figures comes about?
SIMPLE, do a statistical induction model based on ALL the business opportunities given to this special ‘privileged class’, with a sampling adjustment based on the correlated failed-to-repay govt/GLCs grants of those student population of that same class. Its VERY telling!
So any wonder WHY ALL those seed moneys that the tax-payers given freely to this 'special class', in the name of social engineering, ended up like a dropping in a bottomless hole?
Any wonder WHY RM52B ended up ONLY produce that 2%, after 50+ yrs of ‘efforts’! Any wonder how S Korea advances from behind to well ahead of M'sia, within that same time frame & using lesser monetary investment.
BTW, those 2% cant earn their living here too, as 99% of the business opportunities r been ‘given’ to those special Putras of the Bumi class. So how to cari makan, survive & compete, without that ‘umbilical cord’?
Here lie the current scenarios - there r many refused-to-growth-up foetuses here. Cut the cord too early, these foetuses die. Cut the cord too late, they r been in narcosis too long to want to leave that dependency.
So ever wonder when & how that 2% will expand within such an environment? Another RM 52B + 50 yrs?
Dream on…. & don’t ever wake-up for the awakening scene can REALLY shock & perhaps, kill.
Khazanah must only subscribe to a Malaysian Agenda. It is a sovereign development and wealth fund for All Malaysians.
By and large KNB has done well in developing an organisation to develop and manage assets under their portfolio.
There have been some dodgy deals for sure and in some cases, one may even conclude that KNB has lost the plot somewhat. Nevertheless KNB has performed well on an aggregate basis , in terms of dividends to equity and debt investors , as well as increasing the asset valuation.
All of us Malaysians must cease thinking that GLC and such Investment Funds are for the Malays and Bumiputras only.
The true measure of KNB , at this stage anyway, is to enter new businesess without increasing prevailing transaction costs within each segment , such as the agro sector , where their investments have been disruptive.
And to exit nearly matured businesses in an orderly fashion , at the best possible prices the market can afford.
And whatever KNB does in future must avoid the usual crowding out ( which can only result in increase of transaction costs due to a small market such as Malaysia ).
And GLC staffing shouldn't be Ethnic driven in terms of hiring criteria , at all levels.
Go get the best human resource to manage National investments. Period.
I disagree with Sakmongkol slant of GLC as custodian and repository of Bumiputera and Malay business interests.
KNB is funded by tax payers . And those are every individual and corporates that are within the tax paying bracket.
To suggest that taxpayers are funding ethnic based business programs is downright cheeky , if not disgusting. Never mind the humanistic morality underpinning such thinking.
Cheers and Happy New Year.
Flying Horse.
The government would welcome ideas, comments and suggestions as to how to raise the billions for the implementation of the Economic Transformation Program. The question, though, is how many such big investors exist in the market and, even if you were to offer such deal, where would the money come from? And the answer to this is a bit scary. To put cash in the government coffers, do you sell public assets? Initiate a massive issue of bonds/treasury bills? Pay for it through higher taxes? This, is likely to create a whole new state of problems. So true it is the Shakespeare's words in Macbeth "Fair is foul, and Foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air."
Dato,
I am alarmed, since when Khazanah is setup to hold assets for Malays and who says GLCs are held in trust for Malays?
You want well being for the Malays to be taken care of properly. Hire a Chinaman to do it!
That way I guarantee you, Melayu will forever be kaya brother.
But along the way I take my 30% cut of any upside la, you keep 70%. Kalau you mood baik kita sama sama 5% satu orang kasi itu tambi punya budak pocket money.
How say you?
Datok Sak. I think Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa should have read your article with care and concern. This is the thing that Perkasa and Ibrahim Ali should LOUDLY SHOUTED OUT. Khazanaj has gone too much forsaking the Malays interest , no doubt about it. Najib Razak and his brother Nazir should be more sensitive not to allow this to happened. Wahat a weak leader do we have in Malaysia.
Dear Sak,
Khazanah is shall is say our Temasik Holdings. The job of holding shares on behalf of Bumiputras lies with PNB or that was what i thought.
rance,
you and others can continue thinking that way. that means, those shares held by khazanah cannot be counted as part of the 30% equity owned by Bumis.
i shall answer this issue later. in the meantime, lets not get obsessed by the 30% wealth ownership. focus instead on who owns the other 70%. don't use the 30% as bogeyman.
Dato,
Indeed u have lost the plot & perhaps in the same process showing yr true self?
‘lets not get obsessed by the 30% wealth ownership. focus instead on who owns the other 70%. don't use the 30% as bogeyman.’
The obsession with THAT 30% arises bcoz that 30% was given freely on the back of a humanistic understanding of uplifting thy brother by the others.
& yet the givers were/r been taken advantages since all were fighting for the country on the same standing.
How come now u r now claiming to stand higher?
Blue blood? Nusantara linkages? BTW the Indonesians would loath to see u people claiming that last note on their behalf & in the process giving u a bloody nose!
Yet after RM52B & 50+ years, all u can show is that 19%. Some more based on a spurious calculation!
At what cost???????
Or is the recipients really fit the proverbial cow vomit?
Hello, those who own that 70%, didn’t get it on a silver plate, unlike those blood-sucking troglodytes.
It’s years & generations of blood, sweat & tears. Perhaps, u don’t understand WHAT BST stands for? Or could it be meant it to be bodoh sama turunan? Yes?
It's NOT on the same level of arguement!
What a mind to reflect the general psych of those umnoputras!
if boss of GLC gets paid 100k/month, is it for his own pocket or he's to "donate" some of his salary to "charitable" organisations? Banyak masuk, banyak keluar daaaaa....
why did they buy parkway for that hefty price to those greenmailers if they are now paring down investment?
i think nor yakcop will messed up khazanah in the same manner he messed up bank negara malaysia's reserve
Dear Sakmongkol AK47,
As was argued by your goodself on
21 December 2010 13:24, if the Khazanah's wealth was deemed to be under Bumiputra's control, then hasn't 30% or more of the corporate equity already been in the Bumiputra's hands? Isn't it the time for a frank and honest re-evaluation of the NEP?
However one define a malay,looking at Nor Yakob I could never called him a malay.Indian muslim would be more appropriate.
MCKK guys are all over the place.. The help each other climb the corp ladder? haha
100k for Zam is way to much? I think he has to increase to make him more valued above his big team of VPs and EVPs and what not..
This concept of getting government into business through special investment arms has been tested and has been a failure. Just look at all those countries in the former Eastern Europe and many Third World Countries that have never graduated form their sttus. On one end you have Cuba and extreme example of how government funding of buseness has failed. Above Cuba you have the rest of the Third World unable to understant the relationship between government , the private sector and the role of the Election Commission.
FELDA is a good example. Yes, the Commercial Agricultural stage was successful. But the administrators faied to take FELDA into stage II that is the manufacturing Stage. And before you know it we are now in the third stage the internet age. And FELDA is still in the Agricultural Stage.
Please put on the thinking caps and follow in the foot steps of our first Prime Minister. Do something for the people and by all means you can take some for tourself in the form of wages and may be some good bonus. But always remember to leave something for the future generation.
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